Ryan Francisco
Without a doubt, 2020 was a challenging year for everyone and 2021 is not less. The coronavirus pandemic that started in early last year put every business in the backseat.
The world has experienced one of the worst scenarios of this generation where sickness, death and economic crisis is rampant.
The Covid-19 pandemic, the most impactful event since the Spanish Flu, began, decimating the economy. Global economic shutdowns occurred due to the pandemic, and panic buying and supply disruptions exacerbated the market. By September 2020, every advanced economy had fallen to recession or depression, whilst all emerging economies were in recession (Wikipedia)
While other industries suffer from economic downtime, we cannot overlook the many other sectors that thrive and experience favorable opportunity during this pandemic.
Aside from masks, face shield and sanitisers, e-commerce and delivery services also have skyrocketed in revenue and helped a lot of families recording an average of more than 40% in early may 2020 (Forbes)
Although it will take some more time for the region’s real estate industry to make a comeback, Asian real estate especially the pre-selling projects is on the rise amidst pandemic.
This is equally true in the countries like Philippines which reported to have 27% increase by Gulf news in November 2020
“Property developments, particularly in the faraway provinces, help stimulate economic activity. Hidden behind the natural calamity stories that regularly hog the headlines is an unprecedented government-led infrastructure spending. The “build, build, build” pushed by the government is addressing a big gap infrastructure enough for the country’s 110 million inhabitants. It has earmarked a spending warchest of some $164.7 billion spread over 20,000 projects — ports, airports, roads, bridges, mini hydro, power plants, telecoms, etc — across the nation, and bankrolled by both the government and the private money,” according to Gulfnews.
One developer, in particular, continued to display strong confidence in the market as it pushed through with its expansion plans in the second half of 2020.
SM Development Corporation (SMDC) the wholly-owned residential developer of SM Prime, debuted a number of pioneering projects, the latest of which is Sands Residences.
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) is of no excuse on the impact of Covid-19 pandemic. However, they are known to be optimistic in any situation and choose to not give up.
This scenario has taught us that we cannot rely anymore on one single stream of income but to have our hard-earned money diversified and work for us too in a form of investments- real estate being the least risky yet profitable in times like this.
Here are some quotes from some investors:
“My impression with real estate was that you should have a huge amount already with you to start. I never knew someone can start with just a small reservation fee. My first unit has already increased in price twice before I even start my monthly amortization and that’s a sure gain as I only plan to keep it until 24 months then re-sell it for a profit. – Ms. Kimberley Mallari, Salalah oman
“At first, I was hesitant because I also have current investment in stocks, but upon learning the opportunity that SMDC has to offer, I gave it a try and today I have 6 condominium units since 2019” –Mr. Simborio, Salalah Oman.
(The Opinion expressed by the writer is his own.)
